O'Rourke Still Struggling With Ankle Injury

In case you missed it, here is today’s story from the paper on Saturday’s
return of Danny
O’Rourke to the Crew starting lineup.

While O’Rourke was out of the starting lineup, head coach Robert Warzycha twice said the
veteran was a game-time scratch in place of Eric Gehrig. O'Rourke apparently injured his left ankle
one day before the Crew played at Toronto and has had limited availability in practice ever
since.

When did Warzycha realize O’Rourke was available last week?

“I didn’t ask him if he was ready or not,” the coach said. “I asked him two times before and
the answer was no so I didn’t ask him this time.”

Is that the plan going forward?

“If that’s what gets him on the field, yes,” he said.

I did ask O’Rourke about the ankle, and although he wasn’t eager to discuss the situation he
said, “It’s a struggle. I just keep playing hard and take every day as it comes.”

Milovan Mirosevic’s absence from the practice field yesterday is apparently
nothing to write home about. The offseason signee watched from the sideline before heading inside
midway through the portion of practice open to the media. I asked Warzycha if Mirosevic was OK, and
he said, “Yes, he’s OK.”

I asked if Mirosevic was sick and Warzycha said, “He’s feeling very good … but he wasn’t there
(today).”

In other words, he’s fine and please stop asking.

With Mirosevic out of the lineup, Cole Grossman assumed his place as an attacking midfielder
in the starting lineup. Aaron Schoenfeld was paired with Olman Vargas up top, but the rest of the
group remained the same as Saturday’s lineup.

After some scrimmaging, Eddie Gaven took a penalty kick against Matt Lampson. I have to wonder
if Gaven is the second choice for penalty kicks behind Mirosevic, who has taken both chances this
season.

Once practice was complete, Julius James, Ben Speas and Rich Balchan were on the field going
through rehab with the team’s trainer. Dilly Duka was present but did no work that I saw. He joked
with us a few days ago that he hopes to play in a game or two before the all-star game, but I have
not heard anything definitive about his return date.

O’Rourke’s return to the lineup meant rookie Kirk Urso was relegated to the bench
for the first time this season after playing the entirety of the first five games. O’Rourke said he
can relate to Urso’s adjustment period to the league at his particular position.

“It’s one of the hardest positions to jump in and play, especially as a rookie,” he said. “It
shows a lot that he could do it.”

As a rookie, O’Rourke saw action in 13 games including 12 starts for the San Jose
Earthquakes.

“It took a toll on me and it was a learning process,” he said. “I was fortunate to be on a
veteran team in San Jose. (Urso) shows a lot of promise.”